Composite materials based on silk proteins

TL;DR: This review covers several important natural proteins and polysaccharides widely used as hydrogels for articular cartilage tissue engineering and the mechanical properties, structures, modification, and structure–performance relationship of theseHydrogels are discussed since the chemical structures and physical properties dictate the in vivo performance and applications of polymer hydrogeled regeneration and repair.

TL;DR: The structures of biopolymer nanofibrils in nature are summarized and their related computational models are outlined with the aim of disclosing fundamental structure-property relationships in biological materials.

TL;DR: In this paper, a review of Silk Fibroin (SF) based drug delivery systems is presented, where Silk fibroin is a naturally occurring protein polymer with several unique properties that make it suitable material for incorporation into a variety of drug delivery vehicles capable of delivering a range of therapeutic agents.

TL;DR: This review provides an overview of silk biomaterials for drug delivery, especially those that can function as long-term depots and specific examples of implantable silk drug delivery systems and injectable systems from the 1990s and onwards are reviewed.

TL;DR: In this article, a review of polymer nanocomposites with single-wall or multi-wall carbon nanotubes is presented, and the current challenges to and opportunities for efficiently translating the extraordinary properties of carbon-nanotubes to polymer matrices are summarized.

TL;DR: Silks are fibrous proteins with remarkable mechanical properties produced in fiber form by silkworms and spiders that are biocompatible when studied in vitro and in vivo.

TL;DR: It is demonstrated that dissolved calcium carbonate in fact contains stable prenucleation ion clusters forming even in undersaturated solution, and specified complex crystal structures challenge the classical view on nucleation considering the formation of metastable ion clusters.

TL;DR: Although there remain many unanswered questions, particularly regarding the mechanisms by which electrical conduction through CPs affects cells, there is already compelling evidence to demonstrate the significant impact that CPs are starting to make in the biomedical field.